South African discount fashion retailer, Mr Price, is headed to Australia, with two stores scheduled to open under its online moniker, MRP, in October.

MRP is owned by publicly listed South Africa-based retail company, the Mr Price Group, which has more than 1062 retail stores, mainly in South Africa, across five trading divisions, Mr Price, Mr Price Sport, Mr Price Home, Miladys, and Sheet Street. Mr Price Group operates around 440 apparel stores.

Following strong online sales from Australia through the MRP.com website, the first standalone store will open at Melbourne Central shopping centre in October, understood to be around 1000sqm. The second is understood to be of a similar size and is also expected to be in Melbourne, however, its location is yet to be confirmed.

The stores are expected to carry women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing, accessories, footwear, and sleepwear. In its results presentation for the year to end March 2015, the group stated it would review the retailer’s performance in Australia and rollout plan after the Christmas trading season.

“We are thrilled to be opening our doors in the heart of Melbourne,” said MRP MD, Nicci Lyne. “Upon walking into Melbourne Central, we knew we’d found the prime location to begin our Australian journey, and we can’t wait to move in.”

“As a business based in the southern hemisphere, we’re able to offer Australians a relevant, seasonal trend led assortment,” said MRP CEO, Stuart Bird. “While initially we will focus on our MRP apparel stores, there is potential to follow with our MRPHome and MRPSport divisions”.

Read more about MRP’s entry to Australia in latest issue of Inside Retail Weekly out this week.